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Exploring More of Ilocos #LakbayNorte7

February 21, 2018

Ilocos remains to be one of the top tourist destinations in the Philippines, despite the fact that it is located in the northernmost part of Luzon. The province is rich in history, littered with natural beauty, and booming with good food.

Saud White Beach is often compared to Boracay for its long stretch of white sand.

Photo by Martin San Diego via NPVB

While still not as powdery as the sand in Boracay, Saud tops Boracay if you’re looking for peacefulness. There are less people and establishments, allowing you to just be one with nature.

Saud White BeachPagudpud, Ilocos Norte

6. SEA’s Kichen

Photo by Martin San Diego via NPVB

SEA’s Kitchen is the brainchild of 3 sisters–Sonia, Elizabeth, and Anna.

The promise is to serve healthy and organic food with ingredients freshly picked from their garden. The restaurant operates only on a reservation basis, as the food is only prepared once reservation is confirmed.

A selection of delicious and mouthwatering Mexican- and Spanish-inspired dishes welcomed our group.

We chanced upon the Tan-ok festival during our visit to Ilocos. It is the annual celebration of the joint founding anniversaries of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte.

Photo by Martin San Diego via NPVB

As with most festival of festivals, expect all participating municipalities to showcase the best representation of their stories through dance.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Ilocos is a thriving hub for tourism but with high regard for their history.

Embracing the past and being able to move together with modernization and the influx of tourists is difficult but not impossible to achieve, as evidenced by the success of Ilocos’ tourism industry.

This wraps up my series of posts for the Lakbay Norte 7. The greatest part about trips like these is not just the new pool of travel knowledge I acquire, but also the friendships built and strengthened through travel.

Photo by Martin San Diego via NPVB

It is with great hope that this series has opened your eyes to the North and all the beautiful stories it has to offer.

Disclaimer: The Lakbay Norte trip was organized by North Philippines Visitors Bureau (NPVB) in partnership with NLEX Corporation, Tarlac Convention and Visitors Bureau (TCVB), and Victory Liner Inc. Lakbay Norte is an annual media familiarization trip aiming to promote Philippine provinces in the north. I wrote this article with my biases, opinions, and insights.